Marketing for Your Small Non-Profit Business

A Home Business Article Contributed by Sharon Hill

Non Profit Small Business Marketing

The small business marketing materials you create for your nonprofit are an integral part of its public image. While you certainly want to present a professional image, so that you're not going to be embarrassed handing them out while you're hobnobbing with corporate executives, you also want to avoid giving any of these potential supporters and contributors the impression that you are being a spendthrift with their donated funds.

Parts of the Non-Profit Small Business Marketing Strategy

There are several important parts of your non-profit small business marketing process you need to complete in order to succeed.

The first step is to know all you can about your firm. Know your mission, your staff, your products, your history and five year plan. The more you know the more informative, skilled, attractive and persuasive will be your small business marketing message.

Brand yourself wherever you can. Your logo and mission statement must be on each letterhead and envelope you send out. Even your mailed payment of utilities warrants a business card and logo. You never know who might need your services or support your endeavors and send along a nice check.

Propose partnerships with corporations and other firms in your local community that will give you access to free services such as printing and copying. Find out those that have public relations departments of their own and see if you can enlist the help of their PR folks. Of course, you won't get something for nothing really. What you usually give in return is the promise of an advertisement on the program or newsletter you are printing, or a sincere thank you for their generosity during your television or radio spot.

You're going to find you'll absolutely have to have a good desktop publishing program. Microsoft Publisher is a fairly inexpensive program (under $200) and can easily be learned by trial and error, manual and online Microsoft website help. Adobe Pagemaker is almost as friendly and affordable. Either of these programs - Publisher or Pagemaker - can be used to create dynamic business cards, a unique letterhead with a savvy professional look, Web page designs with enormous eye appeal and more.

You can even create and print all of your organization's business forms from either of these desktop publishing formats and save much money on printing costs.

Small Business Marketing Help Across the Board

Ask your board of directors to help with the marketing. That's what they're for. If they don't have the expertise or skills, they know who will - and for a discount. Call them together to help you brainstorm as well. Remember, you asked them to join your board because they were savvy business people. It's time to pick their brains.

When it comes to your small business marketing, the KISS rule applies. With the help of your board of directors, partnerships with area corporations and marketing materials you've designed on your own, your marketing program can look like a snazzy PR professional put it together for you.